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We just got my Grandsons' new Affinity Strat(lovely fiddle; by the way!)and the differences I see with the Affinity to the 5120 is the Squire has a deeper "C" to the neck and a narrower 41mm width compared to 43mm on the Gretsch. It does seem as though the Strat is a tiny little bit faster, but I find the Gretsch to be slightly easier to do chords and fingerpickin', so it kinda balances out. Maybe that's just me.

I'm also spoiled by the binding on the edges of the fingerboard as well. I know that's just me!

....oh; and although it's been a couple years since I last played my Daughters Fender Strat, I don't recall the neck being as deep as the one on the Squire....but that's fuzzy memory I'm afraid.

The newer versions of the 5120 and the double cut-away 5122 have the latest versions of the Gretschbuckers which are being talked about RIGHT NOW over at the Gretsch Pages forum, and the new ones(with two adjusting screws on the bass side)have a much more Gretsch-like tone to them.

....thankfully, I have the old style on my 5120, otherwise I'd have a more difficult time swapping the pups for TV Classics/MagnaTrons to make mine into a credible "Pro Series" copy!

Fender has done some fabulous things with these models and have pretty much eliminated all the problems with some of the earlier versions. The newer bridges don't rattle, the newer wiring harness now have full-sized pots and no static. And of course the pups are getting better as well. Incredible value!

i got mine new for 519.00... it is a tobacco burst... it sounds wonderful through my DRRI... the neck feels a little thin... i was hoping for a wider more spacious feel to it... does anybody share my pain??

I was in my local store yesterday and saw an Orange 5120...less than $800...the thing sounded and played great. I need to educate myself about all things Gretsch I guess.
Any link to pickups in the 5120, where the guitar is made, how it compares to a 6120???
Any direcition is appreciated...also, the Bigsby returned to tune surprisingly well. Is a Bigsby any better/worse than the floating vibrato on my Strat? It sure seemed to stay in tune.

Yup; the newest versions have the grey pickguard with the Gretsch logo already in place. They also have the newer three screw Gretscbuckers which a number of folks feel are closer to the true Gretsch sound than the older two screw models. So there doesn't seem to be as much of a rush to swap the new ones out. There hasn't been really enough of an input on the new pups to draw a final conclusion on them yet, but so far it's quite positive.

The licensed Bigsby may be an Oriental produced copy of the pre-1959 US model, but it's a goodie! Not too many folks are dis-satisfied with them. I'm happy with mine!

As far as where they are made; They're made in Korea. The S/N lists KS which is either(as Fender/Gretsch states:) "SPG", or as others suggest: "Samick". But what the hey; they both start with "S".

....maybe Samick and SPG are related....I dunno.

How does it compare to 6120? Pretty darned well! The only major difference is the 3-ply soundboard of the 6120 vs the 5-ply of the 5120(with similar total thicknesses), and the neck construction. The 5120 has a sliced-butted neck while the 6120 has a three piece sandwich. There are tons of difference between 6120 models though. Some have trestle bracing while most have the parallel sound bars and tone post like the 5120. Some 6120s have Filtertrons and some have Dynasonics and some have TV Classics. There are also different neck profiles for different 6120 models, while the 5120 has a very comfortable compromise one-size-fits-all profile that nobody seems to complain about. The 6120 fans point out that the neck is better finished on the 6120, but I can't see that it's any less developed than I remember my G6122 Country Gentleman being or playing like back in the 60s.

Of course there's bunch more frillies on the 6120, but that's a lot of what I didn't like about my Gent. The gold began to fade away much too soon, and as much as I liked the look of all the extra binding layers and all, they didn't add a thing to the sound. The word I get over at the Gretsch Forum is that when the 5120 is properly modded with the same pups as a 6120 with similar construction, and using the same bridge(the Rocking Bar Bridge is most popular)then a person is extremely hard pressed to hear a difference between the two.

I figure it's just like the model number suggests. When I get my Orange 5120 finished with TV Classic pups and Bar Bridge and properly painted pickguard,(mine's the old clear one) it'll darn near be a 6120 for 1000 less!

I think you're right....don't look bad without it neither IMO. To tell the truth the clear pickguard never really bugged me to much, just makes it look cheap I think.

LOL...not sure if this would make it look cheaper, but was thinking of putting some kind of decal on the underside of the pickguard. Like a Woody Woodpecker type thing, but haven't found exactly what I want yet. Not sure I know what that is either, but I belive I will when I see it kind of thing.

Regardless of the pickguard. I've had this guitar since this past Christmas and it still has the factory settings. This one is just one of two guitars that I have ever owned that I haven't had to do a thing to after purchasing them.....not even so much as adjust the action. For what it cost it's just an amazing guitar I think.

Thanx for the 5120 demo! Turns out that it appears that he's using an older version of the TV Jones Classics with the original TV'Tron mount, so it sounds a bit more Gretshy than the stock Gretschbuckers that come with the 5120.

The Bar Bridge that I was talkin' about is the ol' standard bar style bridge used back in the 50s and early 60s on the 6120s. They give a slightly different sound than the standard TOM style used on the 5120. There's a thread buried in "The Gretsch Pages" Forum that has sound clips of most of the different bridges offered on the various Gretsch models. There are also threads with sound clips of many of the other Gretsch guitars with a variety of different pick-ups used as well.

Shucks; for those of you not familiar with "The Gretsch Pages" forum;(commonly refered to as the GDP) let this be an open invite for all of Y'all to make a visit!

Lots of good info on all the Gretsch models and options, in other sections besides discussion, for anyone interested in the breed. There's lots of history and an equal amount of passion inherent in most Gretsch fans. I've been a Gretsch fan since 1958, but pretty much lost track of the company after Baldwin bought them out in the late 60s. Thanks to Fender and Fred Gretsch the 3rd, Gretsch is alive and well again.

Speaking of pickguard decals; a legend over at the Gretsch Pages who is the master of the pickguard decal; Mr. Paul Setzer; is the one to contact for a huge variety of all kinds of great designs.....or he'll help you design your own. But yeah; adding a minimum of a stock looking Gretsh logo decal and then spray painting the back of the guard is pretty much the way it's done. The majority of folks spray the back of the guard Gold to try to match the look of the 6120 if they have an Orange model, or silver if the guitar is black. There are a bunch of Silver on Orange though. But yeah; I'm almost disappointed to see the new pickguards in a standard color now. Kinda takes away some of the ability to personalize them.

Wow I haven't posted anything here on FDP in months, or maybe a year or more, but I just got my Orange G5120 last night from Musician's Freind and am blown away with the quality. Intonation was spot on straight out of the box, sounds great looks great plays like a dream. I am a little unsure of the floating bridge, but hey I can figure it out!
Rob

First off; like I said; I've been a Gretsch fan since 1958, and the 1958 Gretsch sound and tone is exactly what I'm after.

...easy to get; just get TV Classics! That's next.

But; here I was, playing away, and although I finally got a sound I "like" outta my amp after a fair amount of knob twidlin', it still ain't exactly a "real Gretsch" sound, but what it is.....sounds darned Good!! It actually sounds really pretty darned good at that! In a Gibsony sorta way.

If I hadn't "met" Chet and Duane and Gretsch back in 1958 and of course have that particular sound in mind, I'd probably be just as happy as could be with my 5120 just the way it is.

I too have the 5120 in the orange color. LOve this guitar, the neck just "fits", and this import is a real keeper, exceptional value in my opinion. Maybe they're making them extra special this year, what with this being the 125th anniversary and all...anyway, very nice guitar!

I see that the last time I posted in this thread it was before I got my TV Classics and Rocking Bar Bridge and Gold painted NOS 60s Era Pickguard. So now it looks and sounds almost exactly like a proper 1958 6120 with the Gold faded to the nickel plating.

...except for a number of frillies and that unfortunately styled headstock of course....but that's another story.

Oh yeah; while I'm thinking about it:

In another thread I was talking about having a Country Gent back in the 60s, and it's true; I did have a Gent; but it was the '58 6120 that originally caught my attention back in '58 when I first "discovered" Duane and Chet. They both played "Big Orange Gretsches" at the time and I was hooked.

But in '59 or '60 I got a couple of Chet albums that had a '58 Gent and a '59 or '60 Gent on the covers(both of which I placed on the wall right above my elephant ears record player), and which set my sights on a Gent instead.

Wish I'd have bought an Orange Gretsch instead of the Dark Walnut Gent though; it was the fading Gold that prompted me to loose the attraction to the Gent, and allowed me to more easily part with it. If Gold would have faded on an Orange one I wouldn't have been so disappointed since the Orange one is more of a Players Guitar to my eye than the Playable Jewelery that I saw the Gent to be.

To combat that problem with my 5120; I went with a Nickel Plated set of Classics(which is what's used on the Setzer Gretsches as well as the RHH)and am either staying with the chrome hardware currently on it, or perhaps swapping them out eventually with Nickel as well.

But darned if these 5120s aren't the swellest fiddles, stock or modded. Can't lose!

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